Dean Criscitiello

Dean Criscitiello asked about the trend of ceding commissions in RenaissanceRe's casualty book during the January 1 renewals. He also inquired about the impact of the company's growth in the credit line within the casualty and specialty segment on underlying losses and the expense ratio going forward.

Answer

Bob Qutub, EVP and CFO, stated that ceding commissions in casualty were generally flat, with improvements primarily on the insurance side due to rate increases and claims handling investments. He described the credit line as a profitable class, with growth opportunities found in structured credit and mortgage business, both contributing high profit margins to the portfolio.

Dean Criscitiello of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods inquired about the EBITDA multiples TWFG is seeing in its M&A pipeline and how competition for those deals has trended. He also asked for an update on the business performance and churn of new branches onboarded in the second half of 2024.

Answer

Richard Bunch, an executive at TWFG, stated that M&A multiples range from 9-10x EBITDA for smaller deals to 10-12x for larger ones, with micro-portfolios trading at 1.5-3x revenue. He noted that since 2024 was a 'pencils down' year for acquisitions, there was no prior quarter trend to compare. Regarding new branches, he explained that they take 2-3 years to contribute meaningfully to results and that it is too early to identify a clear trend on agent churn, though some consolidation of smaller locations is occurring for efficiency.

Dean Criscitiello of KBW asked if decelerating property pricing is reducing customer shopping or migration to wholesale markets. He also inquired about the impact of rising casualty rates on submission growth into wholesale lines.

Answer

J. Powell Brown, an executive, stated that customers are still aggressively shopping for property coverage to capture savings after years of rate hikes, describing the market as "ultra-competitive." He confirmed a continued net inflow of submissions to the E&S market for both property and casualty, as standard markets become more restrictive, and he expects this trend to persist.

Dean Criscitiello of Autonomous Research inquired about the growth strategy for the new Baleen underwriting division and the drivers behind the sequential improvement in the loss ratio.

Answer

Chief Financial Officer Brad Mulcahey explained that the Baleen division's growth is intentionally sequential, focusing first on technology and now on broker adoption, with positive traction expected in Q4. Regarding the loss ratio improvement, Mulcahey attributed it primarily to a favorable shift in business mix and a one-time audit premium from older, lower-loss accident years, confirming no changes were made to current loss picks or prior year reserves.

Dean Criscitiello inquired about insurance pricing differences between middle-market and large accounts and asked about the growth implications of lower interest rates on the Health and Wealth segments.

Answer

President Eric Andersen detailed a varied pricing environment: property seeing some decreases, North American casualty facing upward pressure, and specialty lines like D&O and cyber experiencing premium relief due to excess capital. CFO Edmund Reese and CEO Gregory Case clarified that interest rates primarily impact fiduciary investment income, not the core demand for Health and Wealth solutions, which remains exceptionally strong due to drivers like healthcare inflation and pension risk transfer activity.

Dean Criscitiello inquired about the slight increase in the insurance core loss ratio and what market conditions are needed for AXIS to resume growth in its cyber insurance line.

Answer

President and CEO Vince Tizzio explained the minor uptick in the insurance loss ratio was due to prudence and business mix shift, not a change in underlying trends, noting it remains within its recent historical range. On cyber, Tizzio stated that while the company has a substantial business, it is currently reshaping its delegated component, which has impacted top-line growth. The focus is now on large accounts and a partnership with Elpha Secure, with an emphasis on disciplined underwriting and risk selection before re-accelerating growth.

Dean Criscitiello sought more color on the sequential decrease in brokerage organic growth despite strong pricing, and asked about the competitive implications of rivals making large middle-market acquisitions.

Answer

CFO Douglas Howell and Executive J. Gallagher reiterated that after normalizing for reinsurance seasonality and lumpy life insurance sales, the underlying organic growth is a steady 7.5%. Regarding competitive M&A, Gallagher stated bluntly that it has 'no impact... on our business at all.'